Chapter 16

***Hey yall! just wanted to see what yall think of the story and if you like it or not? Im still writing it b/c as my major I love to write, its therapeutic haha....so let me know!
Enjoy!~J

“So where are we going to watch the game?” Vero asks

“Buffalo Wild Wings, my old manager is the manager there and she’s a hockey fan too, so I texted her to see if she would have it on, she said yes, and I told her we were coming in,”
“Sweet! Then we’re going dancing after?” Miranda asks

“Yeah, Dirty Bourbon, it’s a country bar, it’s a lot of fun,”

So we go with my parents to watch the game, after changing into our jerseys. I invite the other girls in the wedding party but they had other plans, but Bailey said that her and her husband would be joining us afterwards.

“Hi Jamie!” Katie says as we walk in

“Hi! How are you??” I ask, giving her a hug

“I’m great, how are you? I didn’t know you were in town!”

“Yeah, just for the weekend... doing some wedding planning stuff,”
“Seriously? Congratulations! Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name is James, he plays for the Penguins,” I say, showing off my jersey
“Oh my gosh, that’s awesome! So I’ll have the game on this big screen and then that one over there, so sit wherever!”

“Thanks!”

“Oh absolutely! I’ll come back and visit in a few,”

Our table only gets bigger as time passes until puck drop, my best friends Ashley and Laura join us, Laura is in her Kane jersey, much to my dismay, and clearly seems irritated to be there, but I wont let it get in my way, we came to watch our boys and have fun.

It’s a good start to the game. Sid scores 2 minutes in, which I was excited about, because James got his first assist of the night. We all had to admit, that top line with James, Sid and Geno was undeniable.  That was the lone goal of the first, and the 2^nd one didn’t come until the Panthers were on a power play, with Jordan in the box. Not too long after that though, we were back within one, thanks to TK. 

And that’s when it happened.

I saw the play.

I saw the hit.

It was a nasty hit delivered by Tomas Kopecky; the man was a beast.

Within seconds, James was laying on the ice, motionless.

I was tearing up in no time, hoping and praying that my fiancé would get up.  He eventually did, only to fall back down, he got a concussion; I’d seen hits like that enough to know.  Sid and Jordan skated over with the trainers to help him off the ice. He didn’t look too good, I felt so bad and didn’t know what to do.  So I grab my phone and call the one person I knew was there

“Hi Jay,” Natalie says

“Natalie, please tell me he’s ok,” I try to say, through the crying

“Mario, Ray and I are going down there right now,”
“I’m scared, I don’t know what to do,”

“Sweetie, it’s going to be ok, he’s in good hands,”

“Ok, I just knew right when I saw it,”
“I know, we all did.  I’ll call you as soon as I get an update ok,”
“Ok, thank you so much,”
“Absolutely, talk to you soon,”

“Natalie is with Mario and Ray, they are going into the training room to check on him.” I tell everyone

“Honey, that was a bad hit, is he going to be ok?” Katie comes and asks me, so I tell her what Natalie said

“Ok, she’s right, he’s in good hands,” She says

At this point in time, I’m glad to have my close friends with me to help me with this.  The anxiety was killing me though. Waiting for Natalie to call me back seemed like it was taking forever. While I wait, I call Sharon to tell her, she was worried sick too, which I didn’t blame her, I told her I felt bad because I wasn’t out there, she told me not to blame it on myself, it could have happened at anytime.

It’s half way into the 3^rd when Natalie calls me back, I decide to go outside so I can hear her better,

“Hi Natalie,”
“Hey Jay, so we’re actually at the hospital near the arena,”
“Oh my god,” I say, freaking out again

“James suffered a grade I concussion, which is the lowest grade of a concussion, he’s still confused as to the events of today, but he has been asking for you,”
“Really?” I thought of good signs

“Yes. As soon as he saw the 3 of us, the first thing he asked was where you were, so the doctor asked who you were, he said you are his fiancé, so the he kept asking James about you, like your wedding and such and he said you guys are getting married in July in New Mexico, and you were looking for dresses,”
“So him asking for me is a good sign?” I ask

“Yes, and his symptoms aren’t as bad now, with this grade of concussion, symptoms generally only last 15-20 minutes,”

“Ok, so what’s going to happen now?”

“The doctors want to keep him overnight to do a few more tests and additional observation due to post-traumatic amnesia. Mario, Ray and I are going to stay here while the guys go to Raleigh, then we’ll take him back to Pittsburgh,”
“Ok, should I come home? I feel like I need to be there,”

“I think so too, but no honey, it will be ok, he’s progressing very well,”
“But what about when ya’ll get back home?”
“He can stay with us for a few days, then we can get you adjusted when you get back,”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely! We did this when Sid got his concussions, we’d do it for any of the other guys, including James,”
“Thank you so much, Natalie,”
“Oh sweetie, it’s no problem at all,”
“Is there any possibility that I can talk to him?”
“As much as I know you want to, it’s probably not good with his headaches, and we just got him checked in, so I would imagine he’s asleep right now,”
“Ok, well as long as he’s getting his sleep, can you tell him something for me?”
“Of course! What do you want me to tell him?”
“Tell him that I love him so much and I hope he’s getting better and I’ll see him back home on Tuesday,”
“Will do, sweetie, I’ll keep you posted with updates ok?”

“Ok, thank you again,”

“Your welcome, we’ll be in touch,”

So I go back in and inform everyone of what’s going on.  They are all as worried as I am, and I wanted nothing more then to be back there with him.  I text some of the girls and told them what happened and that I wasn’t feeling up to going dancing.

The boys won the game 3-1, most of the guys were too worried to do any post-game interviews, and Dan left right away to go to the hospital. 

My parents took us back to the house and I couldn’t hold it in any longer, I sat on the couch and cried. I had the worst scenarios running through my head.  The girls helped me calm down and my mom brought me some hot tea in hopes that it would help me sleep, because we all knew I needed it.